Backgrid USA said that Harry – Meghan asked them to hand over photos and videos that the paparazzi took as they stalked the couple in New York on May 16.
A spokesman for Harry-Meghan said the car carrying the couple and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was “dangerously hounded by aggressive paparazzi” on the night of May 16. The chase on the streets of New York lasted nearly two hours, almost causing collisions with other vehicles, pedestrians and two police officers.
Backgrid USD, a California-based photography company, announced on May 19 that it had received a letter from the legal team of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, asking the company to “immediately deliver all backups” Photo, video or film taken by freelance paparazzi from when the couple left the event and a few hours later.”
The company said its lawyer declined the request. “As you certainly know in America, property belongs to its owners. Third parties cannot simply ask us to give it to them and we have to, as kings can do.”
Representatives for Harry and Meghan declined to comment.
Harry and Meghan left the event in New York, in the United States, on the night of May 16. Photo: Bestimage
Previously, the California-based photo company announced it was taking Harry’s allegations seriously and would be conducting an investigation into the car chase on the night of May 16, although “the paparazzi at the scene said the two of you were not in danger at that time.”
The New York Police Department, the city’s mayor and the police confirmed that a chase had taken place, but they used softer language than the description of Harry and Meghan. The New York Police Department said “too many paparazzi” “difficult to move” the Harry and Meghan family after they left an event honoring Meghan. Mayor Eric Adams expressed doubt about the two-hour chase claim. But he emphasized that whether the case of persecution was long or short, it was “reckless” and “irresponsible”.
The persecution caused an uproar in public opinion, recalling the circumstances of Princess Diana’s death. She died in 1997 in a traffic accident in Paris while fleeing paparazzi. Harry often talks about the pain of losing his mother at age 12 and says that every camera flash takes him back “to one of the most painful moments of his life”.
Hong Hanh (according to CNN)
